A variety of cases fall under the umbrella of personal injury. If you are injured by the actions of another party, it is advisable to seek the advice of an experienced Chicago personal injury attorney. Below are various kinds of personal injury matters that attorneys handle.
Types of Personal Injury Lawsuits
Personal injury is an extensive term for an area of law. Some examples of personal injury cases include things like:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Bus accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Bike accidents
- Boating accidents
- Scooter accidents
- Premises liability
- Medical malpractice
- Products liability
- wrongful death
While personal injury cases can vary in their facts, most of these matters usually involve negligence on someone’s part. So, let’s talk about what negligence is.
What is Negligence?
Negligence involves several elements, all of which must be proved to be successful in a personal injury matter. These elements are:
- Duty
- Breach of duty
- Causation
- Damages
Let’s look at an example of each of these elements.
A person driving on the road has a duty to other people on the road to behave as a reasonable person. They may breach that duty by speeding. That excessive speed may cause them to lose control of their vehicle, which then causes damage to another driver, their passengers, a pedestrian, or cyclist.
If you are the person who was damaged, you must prove all of those elements to win your case.
Let’s take a look at a few specific cases.
Car Accident Cases
Usually, car accidents matters can occur in the following ways:
- Collision with another car
- Collision with a fixed object, like a tree
- Hitting a pedestrian
- Hitting a bicyclist
Depending on the facts of each case and nature and extent of one’s injuries will determine one’s financial compensation.
Premises Liability Cases
Like car accident cases, premises liability also has several different categories. Premises liability usually comprises:
- Slip and fall
- Trip and fall
- Negligent upkeep
- negligent snow and ice removal
Someone who owns or retains a property has a particular duty of care to maintain that property so that it does not pose a danger to people who lawfully use it. If a responsible party, like a landlord, homeowner, or business owner fails to meet this requirement, and someone is injured by unsafe conditions on the property, they may be entitled to legal damages under the theory of premises liability.
Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor or other healthcare professional fails to act as a reasonably careful healthcare professional in the same or similar circumstance and causes them harm. Examples of medical malpractice include:
- Surgery mistakes
- Prescription errors
- Failure to diagnose an illness, like cancer
- Delayed diagnosis of an illness
Medical professionals owe a duty of care to their patients. A medical specialist who fails to meet this duty of care may be liable for injuries suffered by their patients.
Products Liability
Usually, under a product liability matter, negligence occurs due to some design, manufacturing, or marketing defect. When such parties negligently endanger consumers, they may be liable for damages.
Contact a Trustworthy Personal Injury Attorney
If you or someone you know has been injured due to the negligence of another, contact our law office for a free consultation. Our Chicago personal injury attorneys are here to help.